10 Additions To Help You Spruce Up Your Wedding Reception
Creative wedding games and activities can be a great way to get people having fun at your wedding reception. Though they aren’t ideal for every event, one or two incorporated at the right times can help increase the energy of your wedding guests and create some great conversation pieces. Here’s a few personal favorites:
1. Get the parents involved
During the father/daughter dance ( note:this can easily be done with the mother/son dance too), invite the other fathers and daughters in the crowd to come out to the dancefloor. This can be done in the middle of the song, or at a pre-arranged point deemed appropriate. In addition to allowing guests to share in one of your special moments it can really fill up a dance floor!
2. The Shoe Game
Later in the evening the Shoe Game can be an option if you’re looking for an event to break up the dancing. To play the Shoe Game, seat the bride and groom in two back to back chairs out on the dance floor with each holding one of their own shoes and one of their partner’s shoes. In the planning leading up to your ceremony designate someone close to the bride and groom to be your moderator and come up with questions for the bride and groom to answer. The questions should be things like “who is the better cook?” and “who made the first move?”, and depending on the bride/groom’s opinion they can raise either their own shoe or their spouses. The game doesn’t really have a winner, but with 20 or so thoughtful questions by the moderator it can be a fun time and definitely a good laugh for everyone in the room.
note: this can also serve as a great substitute for the bouquet and garter toss if you’re looking for an alternative. For a list of some good sample questions check out this link: http://www.bridalguide.com/blogs/bridal-buzz/the-shoe-game
3. Themed cocktail hours
Cocktail hour is a great time for unfamiliar guests to get to know each other. Creating a festive mood can really help to break the ice, and upbeat vintage or international music can be a fun and unique way to accomplish that. Whether it’s Classic Cuban Salsa, Early 1920’s-30’s Jazz Hits, or Spanish Flamenco Guitar, an unexpected theme during cocktail hour definitely sets a classy tone. Transitioning into dinner, more traditional music can easily be transitioned back into, or if you prefer you can incorporate several eclectic genres together and keep the mix going for the whole night!
4. Use trivia to release your guests the the buffet
For larger crowds it’s often necessary to release guests table by table to the buffet. If you’re looking for a more engaging way to do this, a fun route can be having the guests earn their meal ticket by correctly answering trivia questions. Questions can be geared towards naming famous movie theme songs/sound bites, or reflect your interests with a theme customized to you. Once you come up with your theme, ask your DJ to compile a list of clips/songs that he or she can use to run the game. Conducting the game is up to the DJ or host, all you have to do is relax and watch as tables scramble to find the right answer.
5. First Dance Medley
One of the highlights of any wedding reception is the bride and groom’s first dance. There’s never a problem going with a classic love song or one that you really relate to, however if you’re trying to get creative pick out a few songs that you can dance to and have your DJ put together a dance medley for you. The medley can consist of about a minute each of 3-5 songs of your choice and is easy enough to make. You should be able to receive it in advance so you can practice some great choreographed moves, the guests will love it and you’ll have some priceless footage to look back on too!
6. Spice up your ceremony with custom confetti
Before your ceremony put together a table with several different types of confetti, scoopers, and festive paper bags. Put a sign out that says “Build your own confetti bag”, or something similar, and let guests scoop away. Once the recessional portion of the ceremony comes around and you’re walking down the aisle, you’ll be greeted with a fully customized shower of confetti. Your guests will love having a way to show their affection for you, especially the kids!
7. Place interactive items around the venue or on the guest tables
The options are limitless for adding creative and fun decor to your event. Place photos or short facts about the bride and groom on tables or on signs leading into the venue to give people a great snapshot of your relationship. To get more candid photos at your event put a disposable camera or two on the guest tables and ask for guests to take pictures throughout the event. You can also place sheets asking for marital advice on the tables and see what wild (or even helpful!) responses people give.
8. Individual song requests for guests on RSVP invites
When sending the RSVP’s, put a space on the invite where guests can fill out a song request to play during the reception. Playing people’s favorite songs can really help them enjoy the event, and if necessary you can always screen out songs you’d really prefer not to hear. Send the songs to your DJ in advance so they can make sure to have them all, and day of enjoy the compliments for all the great music.
9. Anniversary Dance
Acknowledge the married couples in the room by having an Anniversary Dance. For the Anniversary Dance all the married couples are invited out to the dance floor. The DJ asks couples to remain on the dance floor only if they’ve been married for a certain period of time, a la 1 year, 2, years, 20 years etc. until only one couple is left on the dance floor. The final couple gets a round of applause,and has the opportunity to give the bride and groom a word of advice for a successful marriage. As an alternative you can start with an empty dance floor and invite couples out starting with the longest married pairing. Counting down the years you end up with a full dance floor, once you invite the remaining crowd out you can transition right back into some dance hits!
10. Karaoke dedications
Ask your DJ if they can get a karaoke track for one of your favorite songs. Chances are they can, and with the simple addition of an extra computer monitor you can even have live lyrics to help you or one of your guests/family sing for the crowd. It can be as simple as including one one song performance during the event, but adding multiple songs is easy too and depending on your DJ they might even be able to take requests for guests who are really into it. This is a great option for couples who love the spotlight, or if you’re looking for a way to creatively express your affection to your partner.
These are just a few ideas to help spice up your reception. Think of something fun that shares your personality as a couple with your friends and family. Want to learn my absolute favorite Reception Dance Floor Starter? Click the button below.
